T17 / Communicating through executive change: Staying on course when leaders move on

Date: Tuesday, 28 June
Time: 2:45 – 4 pm
Track: Strategy & Counsel

NCR’s unexpected leadership change could have easily distracted the company from its primary mission: providing customers with technology solutions that solve business problems. Change at the top requires the type of intensive communication effort that can easily push other projects to the back burner. Remembering its mission helped NCR stay focused on the daily communication needs of the business – internally and externally – during a time of significant turmoil. And while the company has improved its operating performance by more than 170 percent, the transition period required complex analytical and difficult emotional decisions.

Attenders will learn the importance of:

• Striking the right balance when communicating through change
• Engaging employees in the midst of uncertainty
• The song and dance of reaching all audiences with the right messages

Presenter / Shelley Bird / Ohio, USA, is chief communications officer for the NCR Corporation. She has more than 20 years of international experience in communication, marketing and strategy working for firms including Philips Consumer Communications, Motorola Electronics, and Hill and Knowlton. In 2004, she was named Corporate PR Professional of the Year by PR News. Bird is an executive board member of IABC.